Wanted Dead or Alive
by Wayfinder823
Summary: "Why are you following me?" The thief demanded. "Because I want to help you!" Ash blurted, surprised with his impulsive answer. Ash thought he was entering the ultimate tournament to become a Pokemon Master, dreaming of his face on the posters awarding his victory. he never thought he'd see his face under the bold words: WANTED Dead or Alive. How could Ash become a criminal? R&R!
1. Prologue: A Moment of Impulse

_**Wanted Dead or Alive**_

_by Wayfinder823_

* * *

**Author's note: This story is set directly after Battle Frontier when May and Max leave and Ash and Brock return to their homes. **

**I don't really understand why people in Pokemon don't age, so for the sake of a little reality, the characters are going to be aged a bit. **

**Ash and all other never-aging ten-year-olds - 18**

**Brock - 24**

** Just note, that chapters after this one will be long. This will remain rated T, containing, language, blood, violence, and romance (no lemon.) (A bit of Pokeshipping to be specific.) **

**The Prologue starts off in the middle of the story, and then will go back to the beginning and show how everything came to transpire. **

* * *

**_Prologue_**

_A Moment of Impulse_

A moment of impulse: the moment when split second decisions based off one's heart change the entire course of a person's life and others around them. Ash Ketchum had no idea why he shoved the dark fanny pack into the girl's arms. All he knew was everything he witnessed—the screaming, the crying, the Pidgeot longing for its life, and the girl holding a dagger, covered in feathers and blood.

The thing about moments like these, is that no one expects to find a picture of their face posted all over Kanto and Johto with the four bolded words nobody wants to see beside their face: WANTED. Dead or Alive.

Ash ripped the poster off one of the trees, his heart struck with fear. Certainly, his mother would not be proud if she found out her son was running around with a world pronounced murderer and thief. What would Professor Oak think? What about his friends, or even worse: what would Misty think of him?

"I told you not to follow me..." the girl said softly, limping passed him.

Ash crumpled the poster and tossed it behind him. He ducked under the girl's arm, placing it around his shoulders, and his other hand held her waist, supporting her as they continued to walk. "No. I'm glad I did."

The limping pink haired girl looked at him weird. "Why?"

Ash looked down at the girl's fanny pack, knowing that there was at least a dozen of stolen Pokemon in there. He found it ironic how ever since he was ten and set off on his very first journey, he and his friends constantly found themselves in predicaments of preventing thugs from stealing other's Pokemon. So how could a boy like that turn and help this girl commit serious larceny?

A moment of impulse.


	2. Patsy

**_A/N: Okay, so this is being redone, because the original story was waaayy too slow. This one is much faster, and gets to the point much quicker, while at the same time, seeing the relationship between Ash and the thief, Candice. This story will be told in flashbacks. So parts in italics are Ash's memories, while the parts that are normal are what is going on currently. It's a new style I'm trying out. _**

**_For those that read the original story, this chapter will basically be a summary of everything you've already read. (See, it's going much faster.) But they should notice that some things have been altered as well from the original writings. (Which is kind of a lot...) To everyone else, if you didn't read this before, then you don't need to worry. It's a new sort of beginning. And I hope you guys enjoy it. _**

**_P.S. I just want to clarify before you start jumping to conclusions. Yes, this is rated T and has "romance" listed as a sub category, but the first part that you're about to read-Ash and Candice are NOT romantically involved. _**

**_This story will contain Pokeshipping if anyone is concerned._**

**_Please feel free to leave a comment, telling me what you think. I accept criticism. Thanks. And Have a good day!_**

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

**_The Blonde named Patsy_**

* * *

Ash held the sleeping thief in his arms. It was not every day a person could say that they slept next to Kanto's Most Wanted and not mean it in a joking or promiscuous matter. He could feel her rapid breathing, her muscles tightening under her cold olive skin, and her wrists pushing against his, which he carefully kept restrained by her side. For someone that is widely known for her quick silent touch and soundless breaths, she was a horribly loud and violent sleeper. She warned him beforehand, listing it as one of the reasons why he shouldn't keep following her, but at the time, Ash thought it was only one of her many excuses. It made sense.

As Ash held her in his arms, trying to calm her down through one of her many night terrors, he couldn't help but think how easy it would be to turn her in. He had the direct number to the main police force tracking her down in his pocket. He could send his Swellow out to the local town and wait for his bird to return with an army of police and possibly even an angry mob. Pikachu could give her a big enough shock, knocking her out cold and drag her limp body to the police. He practically did it all once before. He could do it all without Candice knowing. Sleep had to be her most vulnerable time of day.

Candice's teeth chattered and she moaned softly under her breath. Candice never slept with a cover or even a sleeping bag; she just slept on the ground behind some bushes for protection, right next to her Pokémon. She always talked about storage space, and when all you travel with is a fanny pack that is loaded with a dozen pokeballs, a knife, some berries, and a mountain of notes and drawings, and having the constant fear of waking up in the middle of the night to run, Ash would not want to deal with the troubles of a sleeping bag either.

He pulled a small blanket from his backpack and draped it over her, startling himself as he got a good look at her arm in the dim firelight. He never noticed it before, but perhaps that was because this was the first time he allowed himself to be this close to her, and the first time she wore short enough sleeves.

Her arms bore tiny cuts, scrapes, scars, and bruises. He could feel the slight indents of where she had lost chunks of skin, and the rise of the small bruise bumps. He now did not blame her for being such a lousy sleeper. If his body was scuffed up as bad as hers, and saw the things her eyes have seen and what her hands have done, he'd have enough nightmares for the rest of his life.

Candice groaned, struggling against his wrists on tops of hers, her body breaking out into a sweat. "They're gonna catch us. They're gonna catch us…" Her knees kicked and her head moved back and forth, whipping her hair repeatedly in Ash's face. Her hair had a faint scent of sakura blossoms, which actually amazed him.

He knew it sounded gross, but he and Candice have not showered for almost a whole week—or at least, he hadn't showered. They've stayed in the forest around Celadon since the day they joined forces, running around, learning how to be a thief, training, and studying blueprints. They haven't stepped a foot in civilization or even seen a creek or pond to bathe in. Ash loosened his grip on the thief, growing very self-conscious of his own odor. He would have been fine knowing that both of them smelled like Spoinks in the mud, but after smelling Candice's hair… he craved for a long bath.

Hair…

Ash's eyes diverted to the dark green fanny pack sitting in-between a sleeping Flareon and Espeon. The black zipper on the pack flared open with folded pieces of paper sticking out every which way, entangled in short fake curly blond locks. A wig that Candice particularly liked to keep. She wore it the first time the two of them officially met, and went by the alias of "Patsy."

* * *

_**THREE WEEKS AGO**_

_Ash finally made it. Barely—but he still made it with seven minutes to spare. Today was the day Ash was truly steps away from obtaining ultimate glory—his lifelong dream since he was ten and left on his very first Pokemon journey. He received a letter in the mail inviting him to join a World Wide Competition being held in Celadon. It was said to be the ultimate tournament, where the best fight against the best for the acclaimed title: Pokemon World Champion. _

_He twirled his Trainers license in between his fingers, taking in the new Celadon City look. The city still retained its lush green forestry and natural floral decorations, but the streets looked completely remodeled and spruced up in the light of this new World Wide Tournament. The streets expanded, but the thick crowds didn't make it feel like much of a difference, as hundreds of people bumped into his shoulder, trying to get places. The walls to the Department Center were made of television screens, flashing colorful advertisements and broadcasting national news, but the biggest change was right in the center of town. A large oval white stadium with gold pillars modeled after the Romans sparkled under the sun. A tall and wide water fountain filled with different sized coins graced the entrance with its stunning carvings of a Milotic, Vaporeon, and a Marill looking tall and full of confidence as water poured from their mouths and the points of their body back into the pool below them. Ivy plants twisted around the golden columns at the stadium with carefully arranged flowers in the hanging pots between each pillar. _

_"That girl is a menace!" a woman dressed in pearls and navy said. She stood in front of Ash at the registration line, and pointed to the Celadon Department Store. The television walls were so large, that even though Ash was a good distance away, he could still see everything clearly. The screen showed a picture of a girl with rosy pink hair pulled into curly pony tails and big emerald eyes. Big bolded words spread across the top of her picture: __**Have You Seen Me**__? Her picture faded and new words slowly zoomed closer to the screen: __**Help Keep Kanto Safe. **_

_Ash didn't need to question. Everyone in Kanto and even Johto knew who that girl was by now—she is Candice Pristin, Kanto's Most Wanted. A famous thief, stealing over two hundred Pokemon from their owners within the past six months, and just last week, she made her first official kill. burning a Shiftry to death and throwing his remains in a nearby canal. It was on the news for days. _

_"I'm surprised they decided to continue with this tournament with that girl still on the loose," the woman said, holding her bag closer to her body. "What if she plans on attacking Celadon?" _

_"She'd be stupid for trying," a young man said, completely covered in tight black clothing and piercings. The woman's face scrunched together, as if disgusted that a punk would dare speak to her. "Celadon's hosting the best trained Trainers in the entire world. Any one of us could kick her ass just for showing her face in these parts." _

_Ash looked back at one of the many WANTED posters hanging around town. He didn't get it. She didn't _look_ like a typical average thief. There was something about her eyes… They didn't look normal, but they didn't look innocent, either. They looked… _different_. Maybe the rumors were right. No—they had to be right. Pristin is a sociopath. It was the only explanation for it. _

_"Good afternoon," Nurse Joy greeted with a smile. Ash paused. He knew Nurse Joy had countless identical sisters, nieces, and cousins, but he had never seen so many Joys located in one place. Six different Joys, each with a different colored cross on their hats, stood behind the tall white counter helping Trainers with registering their Pokemon for the tournament. Some Nurses even spoke in a different language. _

_The Nurse Joy with a purple cross pointed to a tray with six engraved holes in front of her, motioning for him to fill up the spots with his trusted team of Pokemon. He did so, and Pikachu sat promptly in one of the little holes, smiling. Nurse Joy laughed and handed the tray to a Chancey. "Here are the keys to your room. You'll be staying in Room 103, which is to your right. Please wait over here for your Pokémon to finish."_

_This stadium certainly had a different feeling than outside. He could feel the stress of winning the competition and the excitement building in the room. Trainers ran in and out of their check-in rooms, the lobby, and checking out the stadium. Most of them were looking for good areas to train. Some sat in the lobby, with their noses buried in books, reading up on the latest battling strategies. There was one thing that was odd. There were no pictures of Pristin anywhere, making it feel like she didn't even exist. _

_"Would you look at this, Bellossom?" A girl dressed in a bright yellow dress and short curly blond hair asked, looking all around the room. The petals on the Bellossom's skirt twirled as the flower Pokemon spun around to get a look of the place. "And I thought they said this was going to be a competition!"_

_Ash growled. He learned from a young age to at least get to know the person before you hate them, but hearing condescending remarks like that sure made it easier for him._

_The blond girl approached the Nurse Joy with a purple cross behind the desk and started to play with the teal bracelet around her wrist. "The people outside said I needed to talk to some Nurse Joy… so…?"_

_Ash found her comment rather strange. How could a previous Tournament Winner not know who Nurse Joy was? _

_"I'm Nurse Joy, welcome!" The pink haired nurse greeted. "Please, place your Pokemon in this tray to get them registered—"_

_"Registered?" The girl questioned. "W—wh—why do we n-need to do that?"_

_"Every trainer needs to register their Pokémon; it gives trainers a chance to see who they are up against and to make sure the Pokémon are well balanced."_

_"Balance?" The girl extended her arms like wings as she lifted one leg up above her knee like a flamingo. She looked at her Bellossom who was trying to do the same. "That's not really fair to Bellossom, she doesn't have actual feet."_

_Nurse Joy paused, surprised that someone this stupid could have actually won a Championship before. "Not that kind of balance. Trainers sometimes give their Pokemon an extra boost, like steroids, to strengthen their Pokemon during a battle, which violates Tournament rules. We just want to make sure that the Pokemon are healthy before they enter." The blond girl still seemed a little confused. Nurse Joy forced a smile. "Just put your Pokemon on this tray."_

_"I don't understand why Pokemon need to cross a balanced beam in order to compete in this, but okay…" Ash chuckled to himself. This girl might think she's really good, but if she battles the way she acts, then blowing her out of the competition is going to be a breeze. The girl went through her white shoulder bag and pulled out six different Pokeballs, filling each spot on the tray. "These six should do it."_

_"You don't want your Bellossom in your party?" Nurse Joy asked, looking questionably between the full tray and the dancing flower Pokemon. The girl's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment._

_"Ooops!" She said, taking one the Pokeballs from her tray, and pulling out a different one. She returned Bellossom back into its capsule and put it in the empty spot. "I put an empty Pokeball there by accident…."_

_"That's okay." She swiped her trainers license in the computer. "Oh, you're from Ecruteak City? I have a twi—" _

_"Yeah, just like the color!" The girl said, beaming, twirling around in her short dress. "I tried to dress like it, you know, to represent my hometown." _

_Nurse Joy smiled awkwardly. Ecruteak isn't a color, and if it was, it certainly wouldn't be cutesy and yellow. Instead of finishing her sentence, she just told the girl to wait for her Pokemon to finish registration. _

_The blonde stood next to Ash, eyeing him up and down suspiciously, and then gasped. _

_"Cousin Danny!" She yelped, pulling Ash into a tight hug and rubbing her cheek against his. "I didn't know you were going to be here? Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here?"_

_Ash struggled against her surprisingly tight grip. On looking trainers chucked, some mocked the girl's high pitch voice and senseless behavior. Others looked embarrassed for him._

_"My… name's… not… Danny…!" Ash said in between needless shakes._

_"Pika Pi!" Pikachu launched himself from the registration counter, but stood in bewilderment toward his trainer._

_"Pikachu, you finished," said Ash, finally pulling away from the strange girl's hold and knelt beside his Pikachu._

_The girl gasped, kneeling down as well. "Aww Danny, I didn't know you caught a Pikachu. It's so cute! But not as cute as this one Pikachu I saw in this Pokemon Contest-now that was a cute Pikachu!" She shook Pikachu's tiny furry hand, but Pikachu didn't seem pleased to meet her. "Hiii! I'm Patsy, Danny's cousin. I'm sure he's mentioned a lot abou—"_

_"I'm not your cousin Danny!" confessed Ash. The blond named Patsy stared at him blankly. Ash stood back up and offered his hand for a shake. _

_"Sorry, but my name's Ash, I'm from Pallet Town."_

_Patsy's jaw hung slightly downwards, looking confused. Her mouth changed to a large smile as she ruffled her fingers through Ash's thick spiky raven hair, his signature red hat falling off in the process. "Oh, Cousin Danny, you're such a teaser! You do this to me all the time. Ha ha! You almost had me this time. Oh my—is this a new hat?"_

_"STOP IT! I'M NOT YOUR COUSIN DANNY!" Ash growled, snatching his hat from Patsy's hands. Patsy's bright green eyes widened and looked around awkwardly. Trainers whispered to each other as they passed, pointing and laughing at them._

_Patsy cupped her hand around her mouth, hindering those surrounding them from hearing what she was about to say. "Danny, you're making a scene. It's embarrassing."_

_The red in Ash's face escalated like a thermometer on a hot summer day in July.__  
_

_"Didn't your mom take you to those AA meetings?" _

_Ash shook his head. Where on earth did that come from? "I don't drink."_

_"Well duuhh!" Patsy lightly pushed against his shoulder. "I never said you did. Don't those classes help you with your anger? 'Cuz you have a lot of wrinkles around our eyes and even on your cheeks bones. It looks kind of bad. Anger does that to you, you know?" _

_Ash shook, never feeling so flustered before in his life. Usually when people irritated him, it had to deal with his battling skills, not so much something personal-and what was this girl talking about wrinkles? He was only eighteen! Did this girl not think before speaking? _

_"Patsy," Nurse Joy called, breaking up the tension. "Your Pokemon are fully registered."_

_Patsy gathered her Pokeballs from the tray. "Hey Danny, do you remember when you were younger we use to call you Squirtle, because you would always wet your pants?" She said it so loudly that he was sure everyone in lobby could hear her. A couple of female trainers passed by, staring at Ash with their eyebrows raised with questionable thought. Ash tried to assure them that the story was not true, and that he really did not know or was associated with Patsy in any way, all the while trying to keep his cool and refrain from strangling the careless idiot girl. Patsy covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh sorry, do you still wet the bed?"_

_"No! I-No!" Ash stammered, He couldn't believe what was happening. This girl was ruining his reputation! Now the people fighting against him in the tournament thought he was bed wetting wienie with a loud obnoxious cousin. _

_"Oh no… it happened again, didn't it?" Patsy opened her bag and started shuffling through some of her things. _

_"What?" asked Ash. Did she finally come to terms that he wasn't who she thought he was? That she had made a horrible mistake and should apologize. _

_That didn't seem likely. She pulled out a hairbrush, a can of tuna, and a journal of some sort. _

_"I think Skitty's been reading my dairy…" She groaned flipping quickly through the pages and then shoved the things back into her large purse. "I don't even know what to think to think of that…" She waved her hand in front of her face, as if she was wiping words away from her face. "No… I shouldn't do that, thinking scares me. I'm just gonna have to talk to her. It's been a huge problem lately." Patsy turned away from him and waved. "I'll see you for dinner, Cousin Danny!"_

_As she wadded her way through the crowded lobby, Patsy proceeded to stop everybody she passed, pointed back at Ash, and tell them that they were cousins, and that they should say 'hi' to him sometime to make him feel more friendly, because "Cousin Danny" apparently had an "anger problem."_


	3. Rodney

**Chapter 3.**

**Rodney**

* * *

"Rodney, get off me, you sick Bastard!" Candice shouted, jolting from her sleep. She flicked out her knife from her pocket, and spun Ash's body around, pointing her knife under Ash's throat, and yanking the locks of his thick raven hair. Ash's heart vaulted from his chest, drops of sudden fear surfaced his face as he looked down at the short blade under his chin.

"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu yelped, defending for his Master. Static buzzed around his perfectly red round cheeks.

Ash held up his hands innocently. "Candice…" He said as calmly as he could. "It's me. Relax. Put down the knife."

"Oh God…" she suspired, lowering her knife, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I—I thought you… I thought Rodney—"

"I know," said Ash. This wasn't the first time Candice awoke with her knife at the ready, screaming Rodney's name with trepidation and sweat. He knew Rodney Silverian, a regional famous FBI agent and the one responsible for all the Wanted posters posted around Kanto, haunted her sleep. Ash wondered if Candice ever had pleasant dreams.

Candice folded the lance back into the silver handle, shoving it back into her pocket of her shorts. She looked down at the blanket wadded between them. "What were you doing?"

"I-I-was only-you were-" he stuttered. He didn't know how to word what he was doing without sounding like a creep—and he wasn't being a creep. Candice knew she thrashed around in her sleep; he didn't want her to hurt herself even more, especially with the fire still burning. He was just trying to hold her still and keep her calm. He had seen her Pokémon restrain her multiple times. He only wanted to help. But now he kept thinking about what Misty would say to him, or even worse, the look on her beautiful face if she had seen him holding Candice like that—he was practically spooning her! What was he thinking? He had a girlfriend!

"What time is it?" She asked, ignoring her original question.

"What-er… Almost two."

"Hmm… Half an hour. That's probably the longest I've ever slept."

It was true. She usually only slept for minutes at a time, getting a collective of three hours of sleep each night. She didn't like sleeping, and if it weren't such a necessity in her life, she would never sleep a wink. She said that sleeping is pointless, but Ash liked to think it's because she doesn't want to live through more of her nightmares.

"I still have watch," said Ash, holding up the small blanket he used to wrap her shivering body in. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you when it's your turn." Candice declined, wincing as she crawled herself to standing. Her leg was still hurt from when Ash attacked her, doing somersaults down the steep hill, while trying to escape from the wild mob in Celadon earlier in the week. She had a board tied against her leg, using strips of old fabric from past costumes. Ash was sure she had sprained something, but Candice refused to see a doctor to get it checked out.

"I need to go for a walk," she said.

"You really shouldn't be putting weight on it—" Ash started, but Candice switched out her blade one again, pointing it threateningly, telling him to shut up. "But you can hardly even walk on your own."

"Well, I better damn well try!" She shouted. "I can't afford to succumb to Rodney because of a stupid injury. You go to sleep. I'll keep watch."

"How do I know you're not gonna leave and disappear?"

"You won't." She smirked. "Didn't your mom ever teach you anything? Never trust a thief."

Flareon barked, getting up from its sleep and walking beside the limping bandit. Espeon remained on the ground, awake like everyone else and wagged its tail back and forth like nothing was wrong. Pikachu cautiously lay back down, but kept his eyes wide open. Ash knew that Pikachu felt rather skeptical towards Candice, unsure of her true character.

"She'll be back," he muttered to Pikachu, staring at the green pack beside Espeon. She had to come back for the pack. Eventually.

He rested his body against the cool grass beneath him, using his backpack as a pillow and covering himself with the blanket. He could still hear Candice's voice muttering to either herself or Flareon, but the only words he could make out were "Rodney," and "reprobate bastard."

Ash remembered the day he met Rodney. He had grown to like him. After all, he was a regional hero with charming charisma, and a wickedly strong trainer with a purpose. He even gave Ash some advice when he was competing in the World Wide Tournament. Ash remembered how good and honored he felt when Rodney befriended him and asked for his help to search for Candice. If only he knew then the things he knew now…

Two things Ash knew for sure were that Rodney was not stupid and he was a brilliant liar. Rodney knows Candice like the back of his hand, able to pick her out from a crowd of thousands in a matter of seconds, like an avid _Where's Professor Oak_ finder in those famous children's books, and he seemed to know just how to manipulate her behavior for his personal gain.

* * *

**_THREE WEEKS AGO_**

_"Oh God. What am I eating?" Patsy asked at dinner, sitting right beside Ash, just as she promised she would. She stared intently at a can that rolled from her white shoulder bag from the other side of the table. "Is it chicken or fish? I know it's tuna, but it says, _Cumbusken of the Se_a…"_

_Ash stared at her with disbelief. "First of all, that's pasta," he pointed to her dinner, and then to the can. "And second… that's not even open."_

_Patsy shrugged, shoving the can of tuna back in her bag. The cafeteria was crowded with thousands of trainers trying to eat their dinner before the opening ceremonies. Ash has entered many competitions before, but none of them were this massive. He could hear trainers on different tables speaking in different languages, laughing, giggling, and enjoying themselves, but Ash couldn't help but think about the competition ahead, and wonder whether or not if his Pokemon were ready. His Pokemon were so small in comparison, most of them still in their basic form. He wasn't scared or nervous that his Pokemon weren't strong enough, but rather, that his Pokemon could get smashed under his competitors's Pokemon's large feet. _

_"Hii Danny," a couple female trainers said in union, waving flirtatiously as they walked passed. He could feel his cheeks turn pink as he waved back. He didn't know how Patsy did it, but she seemed to have made every girl trainer in his place aware of his presence, and the fact taht hsi name was "Danny" as almost every female competitor giggled and greeted him as they passed. One even gave him her number earlier, saying that she would love to talk to him sometime, something about water sports, or something…_

_"Aww, how sweet. They feel bad for you." Patsy said, stabbing the pesto covered penne noodles with the tongs of her fork like it was a game of whack-a-mole, until her fork could not possibly hold any more noodles. "Sympathy trainers make the best lovers."_

_"What?" Ash exclaimed. "Wh-Why would they feel bad for me?"_

_"Because they don't think you have any friends." She said matter-of-factly._

_"Why do they think I don't have any friends?"_

_"Cause… I said you didn't."_

_"Why did you say that?"_

_"Because… you don't." Patsy said it like it was obvious._

_"I have friends!" Ash shouted. He decided to come to this competition alone, so his friends could achieve their goals of being a top coordinator, or finally starting med school, or running a gym, although, he would have loved it if at least one of them made it here with him, one of them specifically. It had been years since he traveled with Misty, but he maintained his promise to her before he left for this worldwide competition: the moment he won, she'd be the first face he'd come and see._

_"Danny, it's okay. You don't have to lie. I'm eating lunch with you, so you're not a loser. But… we are cousins… and that's almost as bad. Good thing I'm hot."_

_"Excuse me," a man with a deep voice said, standing at the front of their table. Ash could see the muscles in Patsy's arm tense up ever so slightly as they __turned to look at the man. He wore a navy jacket with bright yellow bolded letters on the left side of his chest that read: FBI. He had long flaming red hair that came past his chin and spiked out at the bottom and a long whitish scar ran down his left eye, making his brown eyes seem more visible than usual. "Have you seen this girl?" He held up the Wanted poster for Candice Pristin._

_Ash shook his head. "Has anyone?"_

_"She's really pretty," said Patsy. "What's she "wanted" for?"_

_A wide smile spread across the man's face, revealing his unusually white teeth. "Patsy? Patsy Showgur? It's me-Rodney Silverian."_

_Patsy covered her mouth with her hand and gasped. "Ohmigosh, Danny, how sweet, I have a fan. Do you want an autograph or something? Let me get a pen…"_

_"No, no, no, no. Patsy," the red headed man put his hand on top of her slender fingers. "Don't you remember? We used to travel together."_

_The cute blond bit her lip, deep in thought. "No… I don't remember a Rodney… but there was this one red headed guy I used to travel with-"_

_"That's me." The guy insisted._

_"No, he was a lot cuter." Patsy said boldly. Rodney looked like he got smacked with a brick. Impetuously, Patsy clapped her hands together, bursting with excitement and energy. "Oooo! Maybe you saw me in one of my shows? I do a lot of shows."_

_Rodney looked at the table; his face grew long with disappointment. "Yeah… I've seen every single one. I even gave you some flowers."_

_"Aww, how sweet. See, you really are a fan."_

_Ash couldn't believe it. What was wrong with this girl? She didn't know who a Nurse Joy was, she is convinced he is her "cousin Danny," and she couldn't even remember someone she's traveled with? Was this girl insane?_

_"Well, this is my cousin Danny," said Patsy, ruffling through Ash's messy hair. Ash leaned as far away from her as she could, trying to get away from her long fingers. He only liked it when certain orange haired girl played with his unruly hair. Her voice dropped to a whisper, but it was still loud enough for Ash to hear, even through all the cafeteria noise. "You have to be really nice to him. He has anger problems, and he doesn't make friends."_

_Ash dropped his fork against his plate, done with his dinner and done with Patsy spreading all these false stories about him. She was insane. She had to be literally insane._

_"See what I mean?" Patsy pointed with her head toward Ash. Ash threw his hands in the air in frustration. Couldn't she just leave him alone? He had a tournament to focus on._

_Rodney took a seat on the soft maroon bench across from them, keeping his hand on top of Patsy's, and never lost her eye contact. Patsy sighed. "Well, I have to go shopping. People tend to think I am really excessive, but I'm not. I can totally go seventy hours without shopping. I've done it, like, twice." She slid herself out from the booth, leaving Rodney's hand on the table. "See you, Cousin Danny. Save me a spot at the ceremonies, all right?" She turned gracefully on her heel, weaving in and out of the thick crowd of trainers. Rodney stared at her as she left, her curly blond hair bounced with each step she took._

_"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" He asked._

_Ash readjusted his hat, wondering if Rodney actually asked him that question, or if he stated it rhetorically. "I don't think I'm allowed to answer that, since she's my cousin." he said sarcastically. Rodney chuckled at his answer. "Seriously, is she all right in the head, or is it some sort of battling tactic? She thinks I am her cousin."_

_"If it's a battling tactic, it's certainly one I have never seen her use. But if it makes you feel any better, I've met about… five others spiky black haired kids like yourself that she claims to be her cousin." Rodney said, stretching out his hand for a shake. "What's your real name?"_

_"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town." Rodney's grip was firm and strong, much like a invested business partner. "She said she didn't remember you."_

_"Yeah. I'm afraid Patsy doesn't remember a lot of things since the accident."_

_"Accident?"_

_Rodney bit the corner of his lip. His eyebrows pointed together and focused a mustard stain on the floor. His hands slowly crumpled into fists and his face looked like it hurt to remember. He was silent for a while, and Ash wished that he never asked. It was a personal question, he shouldn't have asked. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Rodney spoke up. "It happened about seven months ago… We were driving really late at night and it was foggy. We crashed straight into a tree, but Patsy wasn't wearing her seatbelt and she… she flew through the window."_

_"Oh…"_

_"The doctors said she developed a form of amnesia, forgetting specific details about her life, like faces and names, even some of her dancing. The only thing she didn't seem to forget is her battling, which is amazing, really. The doctors said that over time, she should be able to recall mostly everything again, but it's been months, and she still doesn't seem to remember me, and she was my girlfriend for three years."_

_"I'm sorry," said Ash, now feeling bad for getting so flustered with Patsy._

_"Don't be, I'm just glad she's still here." Rodney said, shaking things off. He unfolded the Wanted posted from his pocket and stared at the picture of the criminal. "I should really be focusing on my job. Rumor has it that this Pristin thief has connections to some of the trainers here in this tournament. You haven't by chance heard anything, have you?"_

_Ash shook his head._

_"You're not lying to an officer, are you? Doing so is a felony, and is punishable for time behind bars."_

_"I don't know anything about this thief, officer." Ash admitted. "And if I did, I promise I would be the first one to report it. I want to see her stopped just as badly as the next person."_

_Agent Rodney Silverian nodded and pulled out a white card from his pocket and handed it to him. "If you hear anything suspicious, I want you to give us a call, alright?" Ash looked at the rather plain card with Rodney's name, title, and phone number listed in the center. "Good luck in the tournament." He continued throughout the cafeteria, stopping at the different tables and inquiring the same questions._

_Ash brushed his fingers through Pikachu's short cut yellow fur coat as Pikachu licked the lid to a ketchup bottle. So that was why Patsy acted so strange. He felt bad and sorry for her, and wondered how he would act if he couldn't remember any of his Pokemon, or his friends, or his mom. Or how frustrating it must be if someone like Misty couldn't even remember him, or any of the adventures and trials they've been through together. It must have hurt Rodney to see Patsy like that._

_"Give me a call if you hear anything," he heard Rodney say to another table of trainers, leaving a stack of white business cards on the table and continued to the next one._

_He kept staring at the different Pokemon eating with their trainers. The young punk from earlier fed Pokefood to his tall Dusclops, the woman dressed in a navy business suit and pearls giggled with her twitching Furret, and a balding man dressed in an open orange and yellow Hawaiian shirt and shorts arm wrestled with his large Poliwrath._

_"Are you alright?" a girl asked, stopping in front of Ash. She had hair the color of limes that was pulled back into high ponytail and long swooped banged covered her right eye, so only her left icy blue one was visible. Her eyebrow rose with recognition. "Oh! You're Danny, the kid everyone is talking about."_

_Ash groaned. "I've told you my name is—whatever. Danny, fine…" He figured he might as well just save everyone the confusion and go by the name Patsy gave him._

_"You don't like the name, Danny?" The girl asked, sitting in the exact spot Rodney sat before. Her hands laid out flat on top of the table, inches away from Ash's. He noticed that her nails were painted alternatively pink and black._

_"I prefer to go by Ash," he said, as if his actual name had become a nickname._

_"You look lonely," she said, lacing her fingers between Ash's. "A Pokemon Competition is such a sad place to be lonely."_

_Ash didn't quite know how to respond to that, and he felt awkward holding some random girl's hand, especially since he didn't even know her name._

_She leaned in over the table, placing her head just inches from Ash's face. He could smell peppermint in her breath. "My name's Erin. I came here all by myself, too, but no trainer deserves to come to places like this on their own. Trainers like us need constant support. If you'd like, you can feel free to talk to me anytime you want. I have an extra bed in my room in case you feel like you need some company, if you know what I mean…" She closed her eyes, or at least her left eye, and puckered her lips, slowly, moving closer to his face._

_Feeling a little scared, he slid out of the booth, missing her lips just barely. "I'm good. I don't need—I'm not lon—I have a girlfriend." He explained._

_"What?" The girl exclaimed, falling on the table. "I thought that girl said you were lonely, that you were looking for some fun."_

_What on earth was Patsy telling these girls? That her pathetic angry friendless bed wetting cousin needed some raunchy experience?_

_"The commencements are starting!" A boy in a yellow sweater and blue hat shouted, dashing through the cafeteria to the battlefield. The clock read ten minutes to seven and majority of the trainers in the cafeteria followed suit. They gathered up their things, walking coolly, not wanting to show too much eagerness to their competitors, but Ash knew that deep inside, everyone was anxious to see who they were paired up against._

_"Ash!" Erin called. He turned only to be greeted by a mighty slap across his face, muttering something about how only gay guys would reject an offer like that. He caressed his face, feeling where her vicious fingers had slapped him._

_The brisk night air kissed Ash's face as he took his first steps on the grand stadium battlefield. Bright stage lights illuminated the oval shaped stadium, packed with visitors screaming, cheering, and bashing random objects together to make even more noise. Ash imagined the entire place dressed with his face on their shirts, chanting, calling, and cheering his name to victory. The image of Misty's beautiful face standing in the front row, cheering louder than any other person in the crowd. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a smooth pale blue charm hooked to a chain shaped like a raindrop. Misty gave him that necklace just before he left for the tournament as a good luck charm and a reminder to come back to her the moment the tournament was over. He traced the outline of the charm repeatedly with his thumb, remembering and missing the warm soft touch of Misty's lips against his, and the smell of her chlorine hair._

_"I could really use you right now, Misty." He said under his breath. He wasn't sure whether if the was idea of Misty's face, the brand new stadium smell, or the presence of other amazing Pokemon trainers around him, but suddenly, he felt a burst of motivation pulse through him. He was a strong Pokemon Trainer. He believed in his Pokemon. He could win this competition, and the grand prize would be to be back in Misty's arms. Away from Patsy and her crazy allegations about who he was._

_A large televised screen projected the live image of three people standing on a small narrow green stand with a large bronze basin behind them. One of them was a balding man dressed in red standing on the left, while a man with a busy beard and mustache stood to the right, and a woman with short black hair dressed in a traditional floral Japanese kimono stood in the center. Pokémon Trainers scattered throughout the floor of the stadium, smiling and waving the crowd above them._

_The bald man approached the microphone, and immediately, the stadium hushed into small whispers. "Welcome to the first ever Grand Pokemon World Wide Tournament!" The crowd broke out into loud screams. The announcer waited as a different announced translated his statement into a different language for the foreign trainers. "As a member of the National Pokémon League, we kept trying to think of ways to make our competitions bigger, stronger, and better, and what a better way of doing so than bringing all of our past Pokémon Champions together in the same room. This is the ultimate challenge for the title: "Pokémon Master!""_

_Ash smirked. He's yearned for that title ever since he was ten and left Pallet Town all by himself for the first time with his then-grouchy Pikachu beside him._

_"Of course, an idea like this takes many years to put together and assemble. Thanks to our National Pokemon League workers, we were able to make a complete list of winners past and track down their permanent addresses, but we still had one very big problem: we did not know where to host this. We looked into hosting it at the Indigo League, we looked into hosting it in Hoenn, and Johto, and just as we were about to settle, we received a phone call from a very generous person. She said that hosting a grand tournament like this in a preexisting stadium would be a letdown to all the other champions that have already won there, so we asked her where she thought we should host the tournament. She said, "Easy. Right here in Celadon." She got all the arrangements ready, the space, the workers, the supplies, and even the beautiful flowers to decorate the entire place. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you give a great warm welcome to the beautiful, elegant, nature-loving Princess and Celadon's gym leader, Erika!"_

_The woman in the kimono waved gracefully at the crowd, blowing small kisses at them._

_"And now, just like any other tournament, it is time for the Opening Ceremonies to begin!" Fireworks blasted into the air, splattering into a variety of different shapes, colors, and even Pokemon in the dark sky. The crowd 'ooo'ed and 'ahhh'ed in contempt with each blazing image. With the last explosion, the audience looked down to see a small orange flame flickering in the distance. A tall dark skinned male dressed in white ran into the stadium holding a torch high in his right hand._

_"The sacred flames of Ho-Oh!" The man announced as the runner dropped the flames in the large basin behind him, engulfing the entire insides of the bowel._ _"This is the official commencement of the first Worldwide Games!"_

_The crowd cheered once more._

_"And now the moment you have all been waiting for..."_

_The large T.V. screen flickered to show each of the one hundred battler's identification pictures. Ash squinted his eyes, searching for his tiny picture on the screen. _

_"Rodney, stop it!" Ash heard familiar voice giggle, followed by shushing sounds. He turned to see red haired man with his arms wrapped behind a petite blond, necking her like a vampire at midnight. Rodney was no longer wearing his FBI jacket, meaning he was off duty. _

_"I think I remember you now." Patsy said, giving him an odd look, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to remember him._

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading. And in case you couldn't get it... earlier when I said: "Like an avid Where's Professor Oak finder in the famous children's books," I was trying to make a pun or a joke out of the Where's Waldo books... but I don't think it came across clearly... If anyone knows how to reword that sentence, feel free to let me know. **

**Also, I accept criticism. And comments are always nice to read, too. So please, feel free to leave a review telling me what you think, and what I should work on. Thank you so much. **_  
_


	4. The Green Fanny-Pack

_**This is a much longer chapter. I've been really busy lately, and haven't had time to update. I kind of got stuck on how to progress the story from where I left off, so I just sat down one day at the library and wrote and wrote, and eventually it came out like this. The next chapter, I promise, will include a lot more character development for Candice, but this chapter gives a slight look into Patsy and Rodney, and the strange relationship the two of them share. **  
_

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

**_The Dark Green Fanny-Pack_**

_Ash felt claustrophobic as trainers invaded his personal space. The moment the opening ceremonies concluded, police officers shepherded the Trainers through the small tunnels that lead back to the Pokemon Center and hall of residence as quickly as possible-so quick, it seemed they forgot the importance of air. Ash had to walk sideways just to feel somewhat comfortable, and so that his arm wasn't sticking to the person that looked, felt, and smelled like Grumpig on a hot summer day. Ash desperately wanted to plug his nose, but didn't want to appear rude. On his other side, a rather tall and lanky man with thick black rimmed glasses and dark blue hair combed to one side leaded against his shoulder, fighting passively against the crowd. The man reminded Ash a lot of his young friend, Max._

_"It's finally nice to be in a competition and not have to worry about being cut off during the preliminaries," the Max look-a-like said._

_"Well what d'ya expec'? Hhrrrggg!"_

_Now Ash was disgusted. Not only did the fat man feel, smell, and look like a Grumpig with his purple and black shirt, but he even sounded like a Grumpig as well, with a low garbled voice and snort at the end of his sentence._

_"We don't have preliminaries tomorrow?" Ash asked. Weren't preliminaries a requirement in tournaments?_

_"Weren't ya listenin'?" Pig-man retorted anyway. "They just announced it."_

_"I was kind of… distracted." He didn't know why, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Patsy and Rodney throughout the entire commencement. The two of them seemed so strange together. An hour ago, Patsy claimed she had no clue who Rodney was, and now they couldn't keep their hands off each other, like curious Aipoms during mating season. Something about the relationship didn't make sense. But then again, Patsy didn't make much sense, either. Ash could still spot some of Patsy's tight blond curls and high pitch giggles a few rows of people in front of him. The only thing he got out of the whole opening ceremonies, and what he considered the most important, was who his very first opponent was going to be, shown on the large television screen outside. Some guy named Cyan._

_"This is an invitational tournament, and only two hundred of us made it. It wouldn't make sense to have a preliminary." The blue haired man said._

_The entrance to the lobby and Pokemon Center was right in front of them, and the crowd reacted just like water passing through a breaking dam. Trainers ran to greet the new open space, spreading their arms out wide, stretching their limbs and taking in a deep breath of unclogged air. Ash was glad he no longer had to stick to sweaty pig-man._

_"Come on, Patsy, it's not that bad." He could hear Rodney say to Patsy. A long line of trainers stood behind her at the registration desk, holding their Pokeballs tightly in their hands. Patsy looked back and forth between her white shoulder bag and Rodney, with what seemed like almost pain in her eyes. Rodney gently placed his hand on top of Patsy's. "I'll take care of them."_

_"Be sure to check your doors for information on tomorrow's competition." A tenor voice said over the sound system, briefly followed by translators of other languages. "Round one begins at ten o'clock!"_

_"Wow, that doesn't give us much time to train beforehand." Ash said, looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder. Anxious to see his competition, he rushed to the hall of residency. He turned into a long corridor filled with dozens of trainers searching for the room, finding the locker rooms, and seeing where their friends were staying. Glossy maple wooden doors stood on either side of the hall, with fancy golden numbers mounted above small-rimmed peepholes, specifying each room number. Some doors had red envelops taped to the wood with their name printed on the center._

This is different_. Ash thought. Gingerly, he pealed the taped envelope with his name off the door. The envelope felt rather thick. He pulled the contents out, spreading them across his fingers, like the feathers on a peacock so he could see each paper individually, the last content being a disc of some sort. The first paper on top was plain and simple with thick bolded letters that read, Match 53 (estimated time, 8:50 pm)._

_"Looks like we got all day to train, Pikachu," he said, feeling relieved, but also concerned. Competing in the evenings was what Ash considered the awkward time-slot, because you sit around all day feeling anxious to compete, watching other people win and continue to the next round, and seeing others have their journey and their dreams come to end as they pack up their bags and head for home. All the while, you want to go out and get some last minute training in with your Pokemon, but sending out tired Pokemon to the field was like asking for defeat._

_The next paper showed a picture of man in his mid twenties, with daunting piercing blue eyes as cold as ice and bleached blond hair that came out in tall jagged spikes that pointed mostly to the left. His name read Cyan at the bottom of his picture, along with the fact that he came from Snowpoint City. Next, a little pamphlet provided tons of information on Cyan, listing his Pokemon, where he competed, and where he won, and lastly, the disc. It was a DVD labeled Cyan's Sinnoh League Victory._

_"Whoa. They must really want us to study our opponents." Ash said quietly to himself. Excited to rip apart his opponent's battling strategy, he pulled out his room key from his back pocket and swiped it behind the doorknob. A little light flashed red. Ash pushed against his door, turning the knob, but the door remained closed._

_"What the-?"_

_"Oh my hell!" The punk boy dressed and in black and piercings from earlier struggled with the doorknob to his room, but the door wouldn't budge. "My door won't open!" He swiped his room key one more time behind the handle, the light flashed red, remaining locked._

_"Hey Danny," placid fingers stroked Ash's upper arm. When he turned, he found Patsy who came from somewhere behind. Her voice sounded soft and gentle, instead of her rather loud of obnoxious voice he came to know earlier. "Can I ask you a serious favor?"_

_"Not now, Patsy. My door won't open," he said, swiping his card once more, but he same red flashing light turned on._

_"Let me in my freakin' roooom!" The punk boy shout, slamming against his door, as if slamming it could magically make the door open._

_"Did you guys turn in your Pokemon, all ready?" the Max-look-a-like asked. He had just turned into the hallway and surveyed the trouble._

_"Turn in?" Ash asked. The punk looked just as puzzled. Patsy, however, stared at the floor, twirling her finger in one of her curls, as if waiting for something._

_"Did you guys not read the Tournament Rules?" he asked. "Because of everything that's been going on, like the Pristin attacks, they really had to beef up security around here. That's why they compacted us here, at the stadium instead of housing us the Trainer's Village. The FBI and police are on constant patrol, and they enacted a strict curfew for all competitors and visitors to be in their respected rooms by ten o'clock."_

_"Ten o'clock? That's in twenty minutes!" The punk shouted. "I can't even get into my room."_

_"The Tournament Committee wants to ensure complete and total safety for their participants, so each night they want the competitors to check in their Pokemon with the Nurse Joys, where they will keep all the Pokemon safe in the back room."_

_"In the back room? You mean we can't keep them for the night?" Ash exclaimed. He had never spent a night away from his Pokemon, especially not Pikachu. How was he supposed to sleep at nights?_

_"No, really, it's quite okay. It's massive back there. Each trainer's team is allotted a compartment with actual trees, grass, and even a pond for the Pokemon to swim in. They even got a pool for some of the bigger Pokemon. They'd enjoy it more back there than being cooped up in a tiny hotel room, or even inside their Pokeballs."_

_"That's ridiculous. I should be able to keep my own Pokemon." The punk said._

_"Yeah," agreed Ash._

_"Your doors won't open until your Pokemon are check in for the night," informed adult-Max. "Sorry." He swiped his card to a door two doors away from Ash's, across the punk's room. The light flickered green, and a little tick sounded behind the door, giving his access._

_"All of this because of Pristin?" The punk exclaimed. "She's affecting more people's lives than she probably actually thinks. I swear-if she ever shows her face around these parts, I will have my Dusclops possess her spirit so that she burns her own body to death and then we can throw her body in a nearby canal, so then she'd know what it'd be like to be that Shiftry she murdered."_

_"That story is impossible," said Patsy, readjusting her white shoulder bag. "Everyone knows Caterpies can't use fire."_

_"What?" The punk demanded. What did Caterpies have to do with anything?_

_"The Great Pokemon Thief-Pristin. I've seen it. It's a Caterpie." She said matter-of-factly. "I met it once. It stole my favorite bracelet, I was completely devastated."_

_The punk rolled his eyes, shedding off Patsy's stupidity. He brushed his long black hair away from his eyes and turned on his heel, heading back to the registration desk. "This competition is getting more regulated by the minute…"_

_"Fifteen minutes until curfew!" The tenor voice on the sound system announced. "That's fifteen minutes."_

_"Danny, can I ask you that favor now?" Patsy asked._

_"Not now, Patsy, I have things to do."_

_"Danny, I'm serious!" Patsy grasped her hand tightly around Ash's wrist as he tried to leave for the registration desk, her voice sounding a little dark and desperate. "It's important." Her striking big green eyes stared deeply into Ash's. She seemed nervous._

_"Okay-what? What's wrong?"_

_"Well, I kind of did something stupid today…" Patsy said, rubbing the back of her neck. Ash couldn't help but wonder if she told herself that a lot. "When I went shopping today, I kind of bought too much stuff, and I don't have room for it in my room, so I was wondering if I could put some of my stuff in your room? At least until the delivery man comes and picks them up."_

_This was the one favor that she deemed important. Storing her clothes in a stranger's dormitory?_

_"Good thing we're cousins, otherwise this whole favor thing would be weird." Patsy giggled. "So can I?" Her face went solemn, staring deeply again into Ash's eyes, like her life depended on his one answer._

_"We're not cous…"_

_Patsy's eyes lowered, like she was about to be defeated and rejected. If Ash could read minds, he was sure the word, "Crap" was repeating repeatedly in her head. He didn't understand what the deal was. It was just clothes. Surely, they could stay inside their bags._

_"Fine." He sighed. Patsy lightened up. He wasn't planning to use the little closet they provided inside the rooms anyway; he figured he might as well let someone else use it._

_"Oh my god, thank you!" Patsy squealed, hugging Ash tightly. "I'll go get my stuff." Patsy danced her way back down the hall, her golden hair bouncing in the process._

_"Last call to check in your Pokemon." The tenor voice warned on the sound system. "Check-in at the registration desk."_

_"Are you checking in your Pokemon for the night?" The Nurse Joy with the purple cross on her hat asked, smiling sweetly. Another Nurse Joy behind her pushed a code on a keypad, carrying a tray full of Pokeballs. A pair of double doors opened, perfectly labeled, Officials Only. It looked dark inside._

_Ash felt conflicted. He didn't want to send his Pokemon to the backroom. He would feel more security knowing that his Pokemon were right beside him, not in some ambiguous 'back room' that no one else was allowed to enter, but rules were rules. Ash looked at his mousy friend sitting on his shoulder._

_"I'm sorry, Pikachu," he mumbled. "But you understand what's going on, right?"_

_"Pi. Piikaa."_

_"I'll be here, first thing in the morning."_

_Ash filled the tray with his team, reluctantly handing his tray over to the Nurse Joy._

_"Thank you. We'll be sure to keep your Pokemon safe and happy. You can come pick them by the time you wake up." Nurse Joy informed as she picked up the tray. Pikachu waved goodnight to his master, trying to look nonchalant. Ash reciprocated with a wave of his own. He slowly dragged his feet back to his room, and for once, he felt completely and utterly alone, with no one else to comfort him, and remind him of his goals and motivation. His Pokemon really weren't that far away, but for some reason, he would have felt better sending them back home to Professor Oak every night then to throw them in the "back room."_

_Patsy waited outside his door, humming a soft tune to herself. Her arms were stretched out like a bird, and shopping bags hung off her limbs like a coat rack. She wasn't kidding when she said she bought a lot of stuff._

_"Hey, check this out!" Patsy said, waving a piece of paper in her hands, her voice back to her normal high-pitched squeakiness. Her bags of clothes shook with her enthusiasm. "I'm in second place!"_

_Ash took the piece of paper from her hand and read it. "Patsy, this is saying that you're the second match of the entire tournament tomorrow."_

_Patsy shook her head in bewilderment._

_He groaned quietly as he swiped his room key behind the knob. This time, the light turned green and the lock clicked. The room wasn't too shabby. There were two twin beds, one on either side of the wall with a matching nightstand. A large television screen hung above a slim black a/v console mounted to the wall, complete with DVD player and cable, and a wide black stained armoire in the far corner of the room, beside a personal desk and rolling chair. Patsy didn't say much about the room and headed straight for the armoire. She pulled out dress after dress from the bags, steadily filling up the available space in the dresser. Ash took off his hat and placed it on the nightstand, letting out a big giant sigh as he laid himself on the bed, the foam of the mattresses conformed to the shape of his body, allowing his muscles to 'ahh' in content and relaxing comfort. He closed his eyes, allowing the artificial solace to sink in. He shouldn't be sleeping right now; he should be studying his opponent so he could be prepared for the battle tomorrow._

_"Patsy, are you nervous for the tournament?" Ash asked, his eyes still closed._

_"Not really." She said. The sound of heavy hangers screeched across the pole. "I thought that since everyone here all ready won a tournament before, that it would bring some kind of a challenge, but after seeing the competition pool… they might as well just name me champion, now. I am all ready in second place."_

_Ash opened his eyes like slits, and noticed Patsy struggling with something. She looked over her shoulder, and then turned her body appropriately to cover whatever she was holding, and a faint sound of a zipper opening._

_"What's that?" Ash asked, now growing skeptical of her favor to 'just store clothes.' Patsy flinched. Was she planning on hiding something in his room?_

_"What?"_

_"What's that you're holding?" Ash asked again, standing from his bed and pointing at her hidden hands._

_"This?" Patsy revealed a small dark green bag of some sort adorned with long strips of black leather looped to a buckle. "It's just a fanny-pack. I was just adjusting the zipper."_

_"Is anything inside it?"_

_"No." She said rather quickly. "I just bought it."_

_"It doesn't look new." Ash noted. Some of the edges were slightly frayed, and stained with what looked like dirt._

_Patsy giggled. "You obviously don't understand the rules of fashion." She stuffed the fanny-pack in the very back the dresser, her dresses covering the existence of the bag._

_"Well, I think that's everything." She said. "Remember: Don't touch anything. Touching gives clothes wrinkles, just like those around your eyes."_

_Three hard knocks sounded against the door. "Security. Open up."_

_Ash did as ordered, opening the door to his room welcoming and wide. Rodney stood on the other side wearing his black FBI jacket and looking down a heavy clipboard in his hand, making a few marks._

_"It's curfew; we have to check to make sure that Trainers are-Patsy, what are you doing in here? This isn't your room."_

_Patsy shrugged her shoulders. "Ohh, just saying good night to my good ol' cousin." She ruffled her fingers through Ash's hair again, but Ash pushed her arm away._

_"Come on, Patsy. I'll walk you back to your room," said Rodney, holding out his elbow for escort._

_"That's not necessary," she waved her hand in front of Rodney, rejecting his offer. She turned back to Ash and subtly looked back at the armoire. "If you need anything, I am just around the corner."_

_"Come on, Patsy. It's past curfew. Time to go." Rodney reminded._

_Patsy nodded and smiled. "Good night."_

_"'Night."_

_Rodney grabbed her hand and lead her out of Ash's room back out into the hall, where he escorted her back to her respected room. His face was rather close to hers as they walked, his lips right about the level of her ear. Suddenly, Patsy squirmed and giggled._

_"Rodney, you're on duty…" She said. Rodney shushed her lightly._

_Ash locked his door shut, inserting the disc he received into the DVD player and waited for it to load. He didn't have much time to devise a plan for his battle tomorrow. He knew absolutely nothing about this Cyan trainer, but based off the pamphlet he received, he seem to take a great liking to ice-type Pokemon. The loading symbol on the bottom right hand corner kept turning like the hand of a clock, revealing an image of a Pokeball, and then dissolving the image in the same manner. The silence had his eyes drifting to the wardrobe. What was in there? Specifically, what was in that green bag? The way Patsy startled when he asked about it, the way she was clearly trying to hide it from him… what could she be hiding in there?_

_He inched himself closer, slowly pulling open the cabinet doors. The skirts of the long dresses spilled from the opening. He pushed some of the clothes aside, looking for bag. He made sure to touch only the hanger when moving the dresses, that way Patsy couldn't get mad at him for "actually touching the dresses." The green pack sat at the bottom back corner of the cabinet. It looked full-bursting, even. He slowly reached for the zipper…_

_"Let the battle begin!" The announcer shouted. Ash jumped at the sudden noise, slamming the cabinet doors with fear._

_"Piloswine, go!" The blond icy blue-eyed trainer named Cyan commanded, tossing a red and white ball in the air. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, Ash glued himself back to the TV, studying his opponent's battle strategy._

_It was one thirty in the morning. Ash's room glowed with silver as the bright moon light spilled into his room from wall-sized windows in between the beds. Ash paced back and forth in his room. He had his battle strategy planned out, and which two Pokemon he planned to battle with. Nevertheless, he couldn't sleep. After watching Cyan's victory battle, Patsy's words bothered him. Everyone here had won a previous Pokemon Tournament. Everyone here is a Champion in one form or another, but didn't win any of the major big name competitions. He only won at the Orange Islands and at the Battle Frontier. Was that enough experience to even be in this competition? This one was going to be tougher than any of the others he's entered, perhaps the toughest he will ever face. How could Patsy walk around with such confidence? Was she really that good? Was she a better trainer than the way she talked? Could this all a bluff?_

_The way Cyan battled in that DVD had Ash lost for words. He carried himself with such strength and poise; it was like watching the professionals. He felt out of place here. He felt alone._

_Before Ash could even realize what he was doing, he was all ready standing in front of the registration desk, waiting to pick up his Pokemon. His friends._

_"Hey! It past curfew! You're supposed to be in your room." An officer informed, shining his flashlight into Ash's eyes, blinding him._

_Suddenly, the doors the back room burst open, and the sound of cries and desperate howls echoed through the black doors._

_"It's gone crazy in there!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, pulling out a binder from underneath the registration desk._

_"What's going on in there?" Ash demanded. "I want my Pokemon back."_

_"Your Pokemon are fine, it is just one group that rallying up all the others." Nurse Joy explained. "No matter what we have done, nothing seems to tame these Pokemon, not even when we played Jigglypuff's lullaby. I have never seen such endurance. I am going to have to call their trainer in, and see if she can get her Pokemon to calm down."_

_"Who do those Pokemon belong to?" The officer asked._

_"Patsy Showgur." Nurse Joy answered._

_Ash gasped. "I know her. I-I'll go get her!"_

_"You're supposed to stay in your room!" The officer shouted, chasing after Ash down the hall of residency._

She said her room was just around the corner…_. Ash thought to himself._

_"Patsy!" He banged on the first door around the corner. "Patsy, open up! It's important!"_

_A deep male voice responded. "I told you not to bother us until after-" the door opened just a crack, wide enough for a person's leg to slide through. A man in boxers and a messy half-unbuttoned shirt answered the door with long flaming red hair in total disarray, making the long scar across his eye seem more prominent, even in the poor lighting. "Ash? It's past curfew, you should be in your room. What-what's wrong?"_

_"Rodney?" Questions grew in his mind as he studied Rodney's deportment. He could hear someone else behind the door either laughing or weeping._

_"Sorry, sir," the officer said, finally arriving at the door. "I'll take ca-"_

_"No, it's all right, Brandon." Rodney waved off his comrade. "Ash, what's wrong?"_

_"Is Patsy there?"_

_Rodney looked behind the door. "Yeah, but she's a little busy at the moment. Can I deliver a message?"_

_"Nurse Joy needs to see her at the registration desk," the officer named Brandon answered for him. "It's about her Pokemon."_

_Rodney nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll send her right out." He closed the door and Ash could hear muffled talking. In seconds, the door burst open again and Patsy running straight past Ash and the officer, her hands stuck to her hand._

_Ash started to followed suit._

_"Wait a minute," Brandon grabbed him by the shoulder. "You're supposed to be back in your room."_

_"But-I-er-Patsy's my… cousin." Ash said. He couldn't believe he was using the excuse. "I have to see if everything is all right." Ash broke the hold and rushed after Patsy to the registration desk. Maybe Nurse Joy would allow the both of them to go into the backroom, and then he could see Pikachu._

_"What's going on?" Patsy demanded. Some of her curls seemed a little out of place, her cheeks were red, and she covered herself with a white bathrobe the dorms provided._

_"Your Pokemon are getting a little out of control," the nurse explained. "We're going to need you to come in and sooth them." A little door to the side of the tall registration desk opened, allowing Patsy to come inside. Ash followed._

_"Sorry, but this is for certain trainers only." Nurse Joy said, putting up her hand in front of Ash, stopping him in his tracks._

_"No, it's-it's okay." Patsy said nonchalantly, holding on to Ash's wrist. "He… He's my cousin."_

_"But if we let him in, then other trainers are going to want to come in-"_

_"We're family." Patsy said rather sharply. "Surely, there's room for exceptions."_

_Nurse Joy hesitated._

_"Patsy!" Rodney called, now back in his normal clothes and black jacket. His hair still looked a bit of a mess. "Is everything okay?"_

_Patsy didn't answer. She didn't even acknowledge Rodney speaking to her. She just told Nurse Joy to lets go. The Nurse entered a five-digit code on the keypad beside the door, the locks click open._

_"Everything's gonna be okay," said Rodney, sweeping past Ash and wrapping his arm around Patsy's small waist. Immediate sounds of Pokemon crying, howling, barking, and screeching filled their ears. Ash felt sick and guilty to sending his Pokemon here. They walked through two sets of doors and Ash's jaw dropped. The back room was shaped like a dome and completely covered in grass and trees reaching as high as they could go. Rocks and fountains decorated the place accordingly, suiting to the Pokemon's likes. Window-like walls divided the entire dome into hundreds of separate compartments where teams of Pokemon dwelled, some sleeping through all the noise, others trying to ignore the noise, and the rest creating the noise as they possibly could, as if a riot was about to break loose._

_There was a constant banging sound. A Flareon, Espeon, and Pidgeot could be seen through the windows taking turns body slamming against the glass barriers, attempting to break free. Patsy rushed to them immediately, pressing her face against the glass. The Pokemon stopped their attacks almost instantly at the view of their trainer. Nurse Joy opened the door to the compartment, allowing her inside. Flareon and Espeon embraced Patsy immediately, jumping for her touch and licking her face. Her other Pokemon soon followed._

_"Flareon, thank you…" she said softly, giving him kisses on the head. "Thank you… Thank you…"_

_"What's she thanking them for?" Ash asked._

_Rodney stepped forward. "Patsy-"_

_"Pjj! Pjjj!" Pidgeot starting going out of control, shaking its head, and flying frantically upward. Patsy shot a look at Rodney, then pealed her other Pokemon off her._

_"Pidgeot, it's okay! It's okay! I'm here." Patsy waved her arms high in the air, trying to gain the large bird's focus on her. "Look at me, Pidgeot, look at me. It's going to be okay."_

_"PIIKKAA!"_

_Ash knew that cry from anywhere. He turned and saw his little mouse friend pressed against the glass a few compartments down._

_"Pikachu!" Ash cried with glee, nearing him through the window. "You're okay."_

_"Pika Pi." Pikachu smiled broadly with his fellow companions awake around him. Pikachu gave him the peace sign, signifying that everything was okay with them._

_"I think I'm gonna have to stay here with them," said Patsy to the nurse. Pidgeot remained in the treetops, chirping. "We've never spent a night apart from each other. They're scared. They need me."_

_"Trainers aren't really supposed to be in here…" the nurse said._

_"They won't stop their crying unless I'm with them." Patsy explained. "Please, just let me stay in here, with them. If they're calm, all the other Pokemon will calm down and this room can finally get some sleep."_

_"This isn't really a suitable place to sleep-"_

_"It's fine. We slept outside all the time. It won't be a problem, I promise."_

_Nurse Joy bit her lip. "Okay. But you have to promise not to tell any of the other trainers. We can't have them getting jealous. The Tournament Committee established very strict rules about this."_

_"I understand." Patsy nodded. The noise level in the dome lowered slightly._

_"Really, your Pokemon should learn to be more independent." Rodney said, leering some of them._

_"They're fine as they are." Patsy defended._

_Now their relationship seemed strange. Perhaps, Ash forced himself to believe, the couple was in a middle of a fight, and maybe that was Patsy who was crying back in the room, crying, because they were in a middle of a fight._

_Couples fight. He and Misty fought all the time._

_"I'll be patrolling this area," informed Rodney to Nurse Joy. "I'll make sure the Pokemon here keep their peace."_

_"That'd be great." Nurse Joy turned to Ash. "Sir, I believe it is time you should be returning to your room."_

_"Yeah," he said half-heartedly. He looked back at his animal friends. "Are you guys going to be all right?" They nodded. That made Ash feel better inside._

_"Danny," Patsy called as he walked passed her designated compartment. She held the top part of her robe closed. "Thank you."_

* * *

"Pikapi!" Pikachu screeched, shaking Ash awake as best the little mouse could.

"Mmmat? What is it?" Ash moaned, the weight of sleep still pulling on his eyes, keeping them closed, but Pikachu's persistence and worry had him slowly opening his eyes. All he could see were blurry shades of blue, green, and yellow, but slowly the shape of Pikachu's face came into focus, the trees swaying gently in the wind and the stars twinkling against the satin sky. Pikachu's black beady mouse eyes were full of alarm, and his pointed ears stood tall with caution. Ash sprang from the ground like a Jack-in-the-Box. "Are we running? Is it Rodney? Where's Candice?" Ash swaddled up his blanket and stuffed it back in his backpack, making small rotational pivots and picking up any other last minute items, like his vest, and his hat, his flashlight, and-

Ash froze.

Candice wasn't back from her walk. The small kindling fire was now just a pile of black and white cinders, and the sleeping Espeon resting by the tree was no longer there. Along with the dark green fanny-pack.

"She left us."

* * *

**Thank you guys so much for taking time out of your day to read this. I just wish i was a better writer so you guys can enjoy the story that I see in my head. **

**I have a couple questions for you. I'm contemplating on whether or not I should add a few chapter where the POV will be from Candice/Patsy. However, if I did so, the rating might have to go up. Candice is kind of a dark character, or at least, a lot of horrible things kind of happen to her. If you guys would like a chapter from her point of view, just be aware that this will have to change from a T to an M for mature and sensitive content. If not-I perfectly understand, and will keep writing it from Ash's POV, and have Candice's dark past hinted, in order to maintain the T rating. Please let me know, so I know how to write the next chapter!**

**Again, thank you. I accept criticism, preferably constructive. Comments are always nice too. Have a nice day. **


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